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COL Darron L. Wright Award Winners

Thanks to all the writers who submitted for the 2018 Darron L. Wright Award. We loved reading your work and are inspired by the creativity and ingenuity it took to write these pieces.
The winner of the short fiction contest is "Some Kind of Storm" by Travis Klempan.
Second place goes to "Green" by Brian Braden.
Third place goes to "October's Daughter" by Brian Kerg.
Other finalists were "Fumes" by D.A. Gray and "Maneuvering Watch or A Way to Punch Holes in the Sea" by Jude Griggs.
The winner of the Poetry contest is "No Rolling, Shrink" by Ryan Stovall.
Second Place Goes to "Inshallah Manana" by Randy Brown.
Third place goes to "Maneuvering" by Colin Sargent.
Other finalists for poetry were "Night Hump, Quantico," "KD Range," and "RIMPAC, USS Bonhomme Richard" by Dark Laughter and "Light Pollution" by D. A. Gray.

Because a nation deserves to hear its veterans’ stories.

Fitzgerald and Bierce, Vonnegut and Hemingway, O'Brien and Salinger. Some of the finest writers in American history served in the U.S. military during times of war. Line of Advance is a non-profit literary journal committed to providing a platform for the voices of the next wave of great American writers. Join us and take part in the American literary experience.

Writers, Photographers, and Artists

We are currently accepting submissions of writing, photography, and art to showcase on LOA. We’re committed to promoting, networking, and helping to develop veteran writers and artists of all kinds. If you have work to submit, work to be seen, or even just a question, please reach out to us. You’re the reason we’re here.

Readers.

Line of Advance was created for you, to provide a curated platform for the best in writing and other visual arts from American military veterans. Please check out recent posts, browse the site to learn more, or make a small financial contribution if you’re able.

December 12, 2018

News and Reviews

Terminal Leave is the first book by the Atlanta poet, F.S. Blake. This collection, published by Finishing Line Press, is the culmination of what started “as a bet with my sister” and ended up a successful look at the beauty of the natural world and how man’s worst calamities move through the landscape and then… Read More

April 27, 2018

Veterans and the Arts

From the Entry Control Point, I watched the sunset, a gush of evening’s blood over the horizon. The flash of the sun on the Afghan mountain, miles distant, blazed like the gold of my daughter’s hair. Both were just as unreachable. I shook, more from reverie than from October’s evening chill. Nangarhar province gets cold… Read More

April 23, 2018

Veterans and the Arts

History remembers The 1946 diplomatic mission President Truman Took to South America aboard the USS Missouri, Steaming out of Washington at midnight Into the stars But might easily forget The young man out here, Slack, bony, and lank, With red hair, maybe, From Texas, maybe, A young Navy lieutenant from the Piney Woods,… Read More

Veterans and the Arts

I like you. You seem friendly enough, and I’ve tried my damnedest to relate to you the truth. For example, it’s true I came to you. But I came for pharmacy and lethe, not because I want help rolling. I can roll my own, thank you very much. But some rocks never… Read More

Veterans and the Arts

John Mackenzie’s eyes snapped open. He stared into the fuzzy purpling sky and decided not to move until he figured out what the hell had happened. Met four hippies at Dallas-Fort Worth and agreed to tag along on their poorly detailed road trip. Gone one hundred miles in a custom camper van before he even… Read More

Veterans and the Arts

This is the edge of the world, where all light ends, she thought. There are many shades of darkness, and now she faced the deepest, blackest shade of all. Not a single flicker of light penetrated the abyss – not a car, a house, not even a camp fire. Starved for light, the ghostly green… Read More